Stephen Gerard Gilner

Police Officer Stephen Gilner and Sergeant Stephen Reeves were shot and killed during a SWAT raid.

The two officers were on a SWAT Team entering a house during a standoff of a man who had shot and wounded another officer earlier in the day. After knocking in the door and setting off stun grenades, the team entered the house and the suspect opened fire with a shotgun, striking Sergeant Reeves, the fourth man in a five-man tactical entry team.

Officer Gilner, the fifth man on the team, entered the residence to pull Sergeant Reeves out of harms way. He then re-entered the residence, at which point he was also shot. They were both transported to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead. A third officer who entered the house was also shot and wounded.

The Cobb County Sheriff's Department's SWAT Team took over the mission early the next day. The suspect was shot and killed as he attempted to escape the residence the next morning. The incident began when the suspect assaulted one of his neighbors, completely unprovoked. As the responding officer approached the suspect he was shot in both arms, both legs, and the back with a .40-caliber handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun.

Officer Gilner was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He is survived by his wife, 22-month-old daughter, parents, and two sisters.